January 19, 2015

Blessings and Frustrations

January 19, 2015

 
As I was working on this blog entry, something interesting happened.  I knew that sometime in the middle of January, two years ago, I went deaf.  But the date slipped right by me.  It was yesterday.  This evening, I decided to go back and read my early blog entries and refresh my memory on all that happened about this time 2 years ago.  After reading a few of those entries, I decided that the blog for today needed to be in two parts - one would be today's happenings in 2015 and the other would be in part, a walk down Memory Lane 2013 with the perspective of being two years removed from it.  First: today.

Computer Frustrations

Why do the words Computer and Frustration keep appearing together in my life - especially at the office?  The word Headache usually is in there with them.  This morning after starting my day at the dentist's office, I arrived at the office and turned on my computer, but quickly ran into problems: a message said I had not activated my Windows 7 program within 30 days, so everything was locked up.  Ron made 3 calls to our computer repair guys and they tried to help.  We finally found the code we needed to enter, but out of 25 characters/numbers to be entered, one in the middle was blurred and Ron could not get it to accept any of our guesses.

One of the repairmen arrived soon after that and managed to get it going for me.  I thought that the registration on the Windows program had been done at the time of the original work on the computer, but maybe it is something he told me to handle later.  If so, my Later, was too Late.  Then I remembered to ask him about one problem I had seen and he found another which took a while to correct.  It was 1:30 before he left and my headache from frustrations and lack of lunch were taking their toll on my brain.  I picked up lunch for Ron and me and it was about 3:00 by the time we ate. 

The young man working on my computer is super nice.  We had a good visit and in many ways he reminded me of our youngest son.  I am so glad this young man has God in the center of his life as our son has.  It is hard to be living at home as a young adult and helping the family out while trying to continue your education and work a full-time job.  It has been several years since our youngest lived at home, but he was so helpful during that time and we had a lot of good times together.

After I finished lunch and did a couple of chores in the office, I could not believe it was so close to the end of the work day.  I needed to make a trip to Harlingen, so I left the office early to go do that and then to make a trip to the grocery store that I had been putting off for way too long.  By the time I got the groceries home, unloaded, and put away, it was getting close to 7:00, so I had a light supper and sat down at the computer.

That is how today went.  I had a few customers to help, but Ron took care of most of them.  I had a good conversation with the computer tech who impressed me with his emotional maturity and his gift at computer problem solving.  I had a conversation with a couple who came in as customers and asked if we went to First Baptist Church.  I told them that we do and it turned out that they were visitors there yesterday.  I had not been there due to my bad headache, but they said they were very warmly welcomed and appreciated the friendliness of the congregation.  I was able to explain to the clerk at the store in Harlingen that she had undercharged me almost $20.  I know their store has been struggling and she needed that $20.  I had a conversation with the young man who took my groceries to the car and he made a trip back into the store to replace one item when he found a hole in it.  He was kind and thoughtful.  Each of those conversations would not have been possible without my Cochlear implant.  That is where the Blessings come in.

Two Years of Challenges and Blessings

Learning from and Leaning on God!

God is Good!  God is Faithful! 

As I went back and read those early blog entries where I described the Friday afternoon of January 18, 2013, I was again reminded of how much else was going on in our lives at the time, besides my Sudden Hearing Loss. 

When I went deaf, I was working in the office with our oldest grandson and Ron was home very sick with the flu which had already kept him off work for more than a week.  Things that stick out in my memory:  Coming home that afternoon , driving a car I could not hear running, trying to relate the situation to my husband, (who really felt too bad to deal with anything), how serious my situation was.  A few days later, seeing the fear and sadness in the eyes of my grandchildren as they came to visit.  Telling another daughter-in-law, how it hurt to see how upset the grandchildren were, and having her tell me they were all upset and sad.  Having to sit down and tell my Mom that the doctor had told me I was deaf and would not regain the hearing.  Trying to carry on with the 90th birthday/family reunion for my mom 3 weeks later and not being able to hear a sound.  Seeing family members who avoided me because they didn't know what to say.  Having one niece from Corpus who especially took time to spend with me even when I couldn't hear her.  Having Mom seriously ill in the hospital for a week, just two days after the party and not being able to go see her or talk to her.  Seeing God bring Kristina into Stephen's life just a couple of months before my deafness to be a source of support for him during those times we couldn't carry on conversations.  The night he found out the deafness was permanent and was so discouraged and came home to find she had put notes of scriptural encouragement hanging in a tree outside his apartment door. These were some of the emotions going on and ways we were seeing God working in the midst of the situation.

Besides the feeling I had of being in shock, Ron and I faced a mountain of physical challenges during those first months.  Both of us had medical tests that turned out fine but could have had serious consequences.  We had both trusted God as our Lord and Savior at young ages, and had spent our lives learning about God grace, strength, protection, faithfulness, and unending love.  It is different when you read and hear those things from when you live those things.  God was always there giving us strength, meeting our needs, showering us with love, providing outstanding specialists, and loving us in very tangible ways. 

Through this blog, God has given me opportunities to help others around the world.  Even this week a reader has shown up on my blog listing from another country - Maldives.  That brings the total to 81 countries.  Several people have let me know how they have been helped by some of the things I have shared.  I hope God continues to use this blog in that way.  I love hearing from people around the world who have a comment or question after reading my blog.  The question could be not about the hearing, but about the bird photos I often include.  God has now provided a way for me to again hear those birds that I have enjoyed photographing for about 17 years.

Maybe the greatest thing about the two year anniversary of my hearing loss is the fact that it slipped by me!  Unnoticed.  I don't focus on it all day, every day.  Since I write this blog each day, I do pay extra attention to times that the Cochlear Implant serves a unique place in my life - allowing me to hearing special things.  Or that the fact that I have the implant helps someone else learn more about what might be available for them or for a family member.  When I can hear something special, like our 3 year old granddaughter yesterday telling my husband to "Be nice, Grandpa", or "Put some sauce on your BBQ, Grandpa", "Eat your potato salad, Grandpa", I know how blessed I am to be able to be a part of those experiences.  To have times like last week when I spent about an hour talking to a couple about my implant as they had come to seek information that might help the husband to gain more hearing.

Humor is a blessing God sends often when we need it the most.  There have been so many things to laugh about with the implant.  There were the times about a year and a half ago in Houston at the Quilt Festival when my magnet in the coil that holds the Sound Processor onto my head, got tangled up in the umbrella I was using in a downpour and another time at the same event when I leaned against a metal post and the magnet jumped off my head and onto the pole.  Once I became attached to the car frame.  I have encountered the umbrella problem a few times.  You just have to laugh, and be careful. 

God has been all that He promised to be to us in these last two years and we know that He will continue to lead, guide, and direct us as well as meet our needs.